MVP ARCHIVE HISTORY | Civilization ORDER 02: Code of Hammurabi - One of humanity's oldest legal codes, which 'recorded laws and made them public'
MVP ARCHIVE HISTORY > Civilization > Code of Hammurabi - One of humanity's oldest codes of law that 'recorded and publicly displayed the law'
Code of Hammurabi - One of humanity's oldest codes of law that 'recorded and publicly displayed the law'
Approximately 3,800 years ago, Hammurabi, the Babylonian king of ancient Mesopotamia, carved laws for governing the state onto a stele and displayed them in a public place.
This is the Code of Hammurabi .
The code contained many regulations concerning social life at the time, including property, commerce, agriculture, family, inheritance, labor, and crime.
Especially famous is the principle of retribution known by the phrase ' an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth '.
This was not intended to permit unlimited vengeance, but rather to prevent the escalation of private retaliation by setting penalties commensurate with the harm caused.
On the other hand, penalties were not the same for everyone and often differed depending on social status or standing, making it a system significantly different from the modern concept of 'equality before the law'.
The Code of Hammurabi's greatest historical significance lies in the attempt to govern society through predetermined laws rather than the judgment of individual rulers.
Recording laws in writing and displaying them in a way that people could see them marked a major turning point in state governance.
In the long history that followed, leading to ancient law, Roman law, the legal systems of medieval Europe, and modern legal codes, the Code of Hammurabi is positioned as an early and important example of the concept of 'written law'.
Archive Data
Established: Around the 18th century BC (Babylonian Kingdom)
Purpose:
・Unification of state governance
・Maintenance of social order
・Codification of standards for dispute resolution
Main Contents:
・Property
・Commerce
・Family/Inheritance
・Labor
・Crime and punishment
Historical Significance:
・One of humanity's oldest written laws
・Publicized laws and established standards for governance
・Had a major influence on the development of later legal systems
MVP ARCHIVE HISTORY > Civilization > Code of Hammurabi - One of humanity's oldest codes of law that 'recorded and publicly displayed the law'
